Where to Stay in Moscow, Moskva

What is Moscow known for?

Moscow is known as the capital of Russia and the seat of the Kremlin. Red Square opens beside the fortress walls, framed by St. Basil's Cathedral, the GUM arcades, and Lenin's Mausoleum. The Tretyakov Gallery and the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts hold the great national art collections, while the Moscow Conservatory trains its musicians.

Old Arbat Street draws the crowds. This is the country's centre of power and culture alike.

What are the main landmarks in Moscow?

Moscow packs its greatest monuments into the Kremlin and Red Square. Inside the walls stand the Grand Kremlin Palace, the Kremlin Armoury, the Dormition Cathedral, and the Cathedral of the Archangel, along with the giant Tsar Bell and Tsar Cannon. St. Basil's Cathedral closes the square's south end.

Nearby rise the State Historical Museum, the Russian State Library, and the grey mass of the Lubyanka Building. Green space opens at Gorky Park.

What is the history of Moscow?

Moscow traces its founding to 1147, when a small fortress rose above the Moskva River. That stronghold grew into the Kremlin, and the city spread outward in rings from its walls. Princes and tsars made it their seat.

The cathedrals inside the walls, among them the Dormition Cathedral and the Cathedral of the Annunciation, served the coronations and rites of the ruling house. Trade filled the streets below. The city has served as capital of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the Russian Federation in turn.

War and fire tested the city more than once, and each time it was rebuilt. The Soviet century left its own marks, from Lenin's Mausoleum on Red Square to the vast halls of the metro. Red Square became the nation's stage.

The White House rose later along the river as a seat of government. Through every era the walled hill of the Kremlin stayed the true centre of the country. Its towers and cathedrals still gather the whole story of the city into one walled hill that rises above the Moskva River at the heart of the plain.

Where is Moscow?

Moscow stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, at the centre of the country's road and rail network. The river winds through the city in wide bends, threaded by bridges and stone embankments that carry the main avenues down to the water. Ring roads circle the core.

The historic centre sits inside them, with the Kremlin and Red Square at the very middle of the plan. Far from any sea, Moscow lies deep inland.

What is the climate of Moscow?

Moscow has a humid continental climate, with a wide swing between the seasons. Winters are long and cold, and snow lies over the city and the frozen Moskva River for months at a time. Summers are warm and short.

Thunderstorms build over the city in the warm months, and the light stretches far into the northern evenings before the cold returns. The transitional seasons are brief in Moscow.

How do you get to Moscow?

Moscow sits at the centre of the country's transport web, and most travellers arrive by air, rail, or road. The great terminals ring the centre, among them the Leningradsky railway station, sending trains out across the country and beyond. From any of them the metro reaches the core.

Stations like Komsomolskaya and Novoslobodskaya link the rail terminals to Red Square in minutes, running late every night. Ring roads carry the traffic around.